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4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Misleading Title and Reviewers Apr 27, 2009
By Sam Miller
I am a college student writing a report on some campaign strategies used by the Obama for America campaign. I bought this book looking for some insight into some of those strategies. I was greatly disappointed.
The first four chapters are dedicated to a cursory glance at the role Iowa, the state of the economy, and money played in the election. The two Iowa chapters are only a few pages each and say nothing about the campaign strategies used in Iowa.
The chapter about the economy - 3 pages - is superficial and spends most of the time talking about how other recent presidents have dealt with economic downturns during election seasons.
The chapter about money - 3 and 1/2 pages, mostly lists - says nothing about how the campaign raised money, or how, for instance, Obama's campaign revolutionized fundraising and set records throughout his campaign. Much of the chapter simply lists the bundlers who helped McCain and Obama raise money. This is appropriate for a Buying of the President book, not for a book called "How Obama Won".
The next 8 chapters are dedicated to the role race and black leaders played in the election. This is very important and certainly these factors had an impact in the election of Obama. But their treatment in this book does not offer insight into "How Obama Won."
The rest of the book offers nice anecdotes about events throughout the election. None of it is useful for studying the campaign strategies involved in Obama's victory.
The book's title is very misleading. I know, I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. So I judged it by the other reviews on this site, which also were very misleading. Here are some particularly ridiculous statements made by other reviewers:
"but you could say it is handbook for anybody contemplating running for office."
I don't think this could be further from the truth. Nothing in this book relates to electoral campaign strategy.
"There is possibly no one in the current political circles who has written more profoundly and fairly about the constant waves of change in American politics than Earl Ofari Hutchinson."
If Hutchinson has written profoundly, it is not in this book. There are fewer than 100 pages about myriad subjects. With each chapter averaging 3-5 pages, there's no way it could "dig deep" (as another reviewer put it).
"takes the reader right into war rooms of Obama's brain trust and that of his opponents' campaigns"
No, it really doesn't.
I guess this is a good lesson for me to use the "Look Inside" feature and scan the table of contents, and seek other reviews beyond Amazon before buying a book.
For people wanting to gain some insight into the campaign strategies that made Obama our president, I have found simply searching the Internet to be the best resource so far, as well as some magazine articles (see Fast Company). Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, is writing a book called "The Audacity to Win" that will likely go into the details of the campaign. But this book probably won't be out until the fall, so until then, Google.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 "How Obama Won" Jan 13, 2009
By Pedro J. Baez
When the phenomenon of Barack Obama started I have to admit, I was caught up in it. I remember the 2004 Democratic Convention and Obama'a address and said "Why isn't he the candidate instead of Kerry?" Along with others, I was impressed. When the junior senator from Illinois announced his candidacy, my first thought was "How will this play in Iowa, and other predominately White states?" "How Obama Won" not only tells how it happened, but you could say it is handbook for anybody contemplating running for office. Hutchinson goes through the entire campaign explaining strategies on how this miracle was pulled off. I recomend this as required reading for all high school students, especially black, hispanic, and Native American students. The dropout rate for these groups of students has been too high, like in the 50% and higher catagory. This book should serve as a wake up call, that if you apply yourself, anything can happen. This is a book that once you start reading it, you can't put it down.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson - Fun, Fair, Balanced & Objective Jan 05, 2009
By Steven Clark Bradley
"Steven Clark Bradley"
Now, I was not a fan of Barack Obama during the campaign, nor am I now. Yet, I can truly tell you that I am a big fan of political expert and writer, Earl Ofari Hutchinson. There is possibly no one in the current political circles who has written more profoundly and fairly about the constant waves of change in American politics than Earl Ofari Hutchinson. One of the best reasons I can give for my appreciation of Mr. Hutchinson is his new book, `How Obama Won' is that this excellent book is an interesting, fair, understandable and realistic account of the political race that propelled Barack Obama into the White House as America's first African American President. It has to be one of the best records of this historic campaign that has been penned up to now and perhaps well into the future, making it a must read for opponents and supporters of Obama alike.
All of the material that Mr. Hutchinson wrote before Obama's election can only be described as highly objective. He has kept that same approach to his writing in his new book, How Obama Won. One example that stood out to me was his statements about the current administration. Though, Hutchinson does not hide his opposition to President George W. Bush, he wrote his statements with clear reasoning and fresh objectivity. He does not come out with the horrific diatribes against Obama's opponent either that so many other writers have used as obvious goals of simply besmirching rather than informing readers. I guess I can say that he does not seem to have any axes to grind, but just a public to inform. I find that exceptional and rare, indeed.
Now, I know there are those out there who will immediately say that they hate politics and will not take a good look at this type of book. Well, let me say that you will be very pleasantly surprised. How Obama Won comes across to the reader more like a true-life story that only America could produce. How Obama Won is full of unique and close-up information with great descriptions of the political and social twists and turns that made the 2008 Presidential election one of the most interesting and thrilling in the history of the nation. How Obama Won is a smart and thoughtful book, but it is also fun and takes the reader right into war rooms of Obama's brain trust and that of his opponents' campaigns.
I hope you will invest your time in this new and excellent report, How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson. You will never say that politics is boring again.
Steven Clark Bradley
Author of Patriot Acts, Nimrod Rising,
Stilborn & Probable Cause
A Fair and Balanced Overview of Obama's Strategy Feb 02, 2009
By Cheryl C. Malandrinos
"johnnycat15"
If you seek to learn more about how Barak Obama inspired a nation and captured the White House, you need to look no further than the engaging and fair, "How Obama Won" by Earl Ofari Hutchinson.
A leading political analyst and social commentator, Hutchinson follows up his last two titles, "How the GOP Can Keep the White House, How the Democrats Can Take it Back" and "The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House", with an exploration into Obama's campaign from start to finish: what he did, what he didn't do, and what challenges he faced.
Americans' desire for change--something that Hilliary Clinton as an insider couldn't provide, how important or unimportant race would be in the 2008 Election, the state of the economy and the Wall Street Crisis of September 2008, Sarah Palin, and other issues that floated around from the day that Obama announced his intentions to seek the Democratic nomination, are put under a fair and balanced light to illuminate for the reader the elements that came into play and the decisions that were made to help catapult Barak Obama to the highest position in the land.
Conservatives, liberals and everyone in between will appreciate Hutchinson's writing style that allows even someone who does not regularly follow politics to understand his opinions, and yet, "How Obama Won" contains the right type of information to attract readers who have a working knowledge of the American political landscape. I can see this book being blogged about for months to come as polticial analysts dissect every facet of Obama's campaign strategy and continue to follow Obama's presidency.
While some readers may not agree with Hutchinson's assessment of Barack Obama as a "moderate centrist Democrat" and the author's comments about the Bush Administration, Hutchinson does an excellent job of showing how dissatisfaction with the current Administration played a huge role in Obama's win.
"How Obama Won" by Earl Ofari Hutchinson will not only be enjoyed by adults with an interest in politics, it would make superb high school and college reading material for social studies and current events classes of all kinds.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A Crash Course on The Elements That Explain How Obama Won the Presidency Jan 02, 2009
By Nikki Leigh
"Award Winning Author & Publicst"
How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson
A Comprehensive Dissect of Obama's White House Win
I have to be honest that I've never followed politics for many reasons. But in the past year, I've worked with Earl Ofari Hutchinson, read four of his books and followed his blog posts. It has been a crash course in politics.
The unbiased details that he shares and the historic information that he provides to support his conclusions are fascinating to me because I love to learn the story behind the news. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a nationally recognized political analyst and author who has had his finger on the pulse of the political system for years and he uses that experience to help the reader dissect Obama's win.
That is also one of the things I really liked about his latest book, How Obama Won. So many things happened through the 20+ months of campaigning, that I had lost track of many of the details. Through the 20 chapters of this book, he starts with Obama announcing that he will run, his big and important win in the Iowa primary and brings the reader through the final days of the election. I was talking to a friend who was reading this and he mentioned that it felt like a friend was explaining the election to your personally.
In the pages of How Obama Won, Hutchinson discusses many things that helped propel Obama to victory and some things that had the potential to derail his candidacy. These topics include: the economy, fund raising, the black vote, Oprah's support, "the Bradley Effect", Jesse Jackson, Reverend Wright, the race issue, the Clintons, choosing the right vice president, Sarah Palin, Colin Powell, blue collar America, and more.
There are very high expectations for President Obama and his administration. This book is to the point and will take you back through the election process and remind you of the details that got Obama to his current position. Take a look back at this historic election that people will study for years to come. This is your chance to dissect Obama's win. Sure Obama got more votes, but what lead up to him getting those votes? That's what you learn in How Obama Won.
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